Flame of Failure
by Oceana Mist
Summary: Danny loses his ghost powers at the hands of Ember, after Sam breaks up with him. In an attempt to try and get them back Sam and Ember ended up switching powers, in other words Sam dies and Ember becomes human. How will Danny change them back? Will Danny and Sam reunite? Will a new spark form?
1. Transfer

Danny walked home in the freezing air. What a night. His ghost powers stop working half way through a fight with the hard rocker Ember Mclain, his girlfriend, Sam, breaks up with him, and his best friend Tucker is moving away. Not knowing if his ghost sense was still working Danny ran home. Once he entered Fenton Works he ran straight to the lab where he was hoping, his family wouldn't be.

"Danny! Come check out this ecto sensor we built!" Jack Fenton yelled to his son. Trying to run to back upstairs and avoid a confrontation with his parents, Maddie pulled him back down to the lab. "Here Maddie put this on." Jack instructed handing Maddie a bracelet. She put it on with a giddy look on her face. Jack grabbed a remote. The remote had five buttons, a large blue one sat in the middle with two orange ones on either side. "Now I'll just press this button and -" Danny braced himself for the sensor to detect him... but nothing happened. There was no beeping, or plasma ray, nothing. Danny chuckled.

"Uh great invention Dad, I gotta go do homework." Danny bolted up the stairs into his room. He paced back and forth trying to decide whether his powers were gone or if his Dad's invention was a dud... as most of them are. Running a hand through his hair danny looked out the window taking a sharp breath of the crisp night air. _What is going on? This has never happened to me before, I mean not unless I got beaten badly and even then I could phase back._ What was even odder was that Danny couldn't remember half his fight with Ember. He remembered it in pieces.

**"You're dead halfa." Ember spat. She stuck a cord on her guitar. Danny dodged it with ease, laughing. **

** "Hey is that all you got? Maybe they should call you pop princess of failure." Danny snickered.**

** "Aw baby pop that's cute mind if I write it down?" Ember struck a cord on her guitar and it hit Danny. **

Then it hit Danny. Ember did something to him. She took his ghost powers away. Danny cursed to himself and ran downstairs.

"Mom! Dad! Jazz! I'm going out, I'll be back later! Don't wait up!" Danny yelled whilst running out the door.

"Danny! Wait! Where are you going? It's a school night!" Jazz yelled being the parental figure that was absent in their parents. Jazz huffed and went back to her room. Her maternal instincts only went so far,

Danny ran through the streets not even sure why. What would he do when he found Ember? He couldn't fight her without his ghost powers. Danny stopped dead in his tracks. Normally Tucker an Sam would be there to throw ideas around until Danny had an idea. But they weren't. Tucker was packing and Sam was probably off with her new boyfriend. Sam... Everytime he thought of her his heart took a beating. How could she not love him anymore? Just like that she was done. She said they'd still be friends... Danny took out his phone and dialed Sam's number.

"Hello?" His heart skipped a beat when he heard her voice.

"Sam."

"Danny I-"

"I need your help."

Twenty minutes later Sam was standing in front of Danny. She had a pair of skinny jeans with black boots on and a black cropped sweatshirt. Her hair was completely down and she had black eyeliner smudged around her eyes hastily. She breathed out before saying anything.

"So what's the problem?" She asked.

"Ember took my ghost powers." Sam's eyes went wide.

"What? How?" She asked putting an arm on Danny's shoulder. Danny jerked away.

"Don't." Sam looked down. She felt horrible for hurting Danny. And truth be told, she didn't have another boyfriend. She still loved Danny, but she was sick of being Mrs. Sam Phantom. She wanted to be just Sam. But she knew Danny would stop fighting ghosts if she told him the real reason she had broken up with him, so she made up a boyfriend.

"What did Ember do?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. She stuck a cord on her guitar and I think it knocked me out because I can't remember what happened after that. I just remember waking up and not being able to phase." Danny kicked a rock.

"Well what if the cord took away your ghost powers?" Danny shook his head.

"I don't think so. She would've used it right away if that was the case." Sam thought, she knew that no matter what she needed to help Danny.

"Well either way, Ember is powerless without her guitar. So we need to get it." Danny looked up.

"How? I'm human now..." Sam almost put a hand on his shoulder but stopped herself and huffed.

"Tuck and I have managed to stay alive without ghost powers, even saved your ass a few times." Sam smirked. "Come on let's get some stuff from the lab and we'll track Ember down." Danny shrugged and followed Sam. He was glad to have her. They walked back to Fenton Works.

"How are things going with Brody?" Danny asked stopping Sam in her tracks. She fought back tears.

"Uh we're fine." She kept walking, faster this time. Danny grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"I'm glad. Sam I-" Danny rubbed the back of his neck. She shook her head.

"I know." She smiled and kept walking. They went back to Fenton Works in silence this time. Danny stopped Sam before they entered the house.

"My family doesn't know." Sam crossed her arms and laughed.

"I figured they wouldn't since you don't tell them anything until Jazz drags it out of you." Danny smiled and took her hand. They had to pretend to be a couple to keep Danny from being smothered.

"Danny do you have any idea what time it is?" Jazz crossed her arms. Her glare was ice cold until she saw Sam an it softened a little.

"Sorry _Mom _do you know where the rents are?" He asked. She pointed upstairs and he smiled inwardly. "Great we will be in the lab." Danny dragged Sam into the lab. She didn't let go of his hand and he looked down.

"Uh Sam?" She followed his gaze and let go coughing. She started walking towards the gadgets on a table. She picked up the ecto sensor and examined it.

"What's this?" She asked. Danny stuffed a few thermos' into his nap sack which he had left in the lab from earlier. Upon hearing Sam's voice he looked up.

"It's an ecto sensor. My dad made it earlier but I'm not sure if it works." Danny shrugged. Sam walked over to him and grabbed his wrist putting the bracelet on it.

"Couldn't hurt." She examined the remote and hit the blue button. The bracelet beeped, signaling it was on. Stuffing the remote into the nap sack she went back to grabbing some more ghost hunting gear. They took the ecto blasters along with the ecto fishing pole (AN no idea what the heck that was called... can't remember so no hate if I get names wrong)

"Take the knapsack and get out of here I'll sneak out in twenty minutes." Danny went to run up the stairs when Sam grabbed his arm.

"Danny you can't fly or go intangible anymore how are you going to sneak out?" Danny chuckled.

"Same way I did before I had ghost powers just meet me under my bedroom window in twenty minutes." Sam nodded and left the house. Danny went up to his room and shut the door quietly not wanting to wake up his parents. Now that he couldn't go ghost weather would actually affect him. He threw off his tee-shirt and grabbed a white long sleeve sort with 3 buttons and his leather jacket. Danny looked for the rope in his closet. When he found it he tied a secure knot around his bed and threw it out the window and scaled it until it was a safe distance to jump.

Sam was looking at him like he was crazy.

"Let's go." Danny said as Sam rolled her eyes.

They set off to god knows where on a journey that they very well may not live to see the end. They walked in silence both drowning in thoughts of the other. The silence was neither comfortable nor awkward... It was a ghostly silence. Sam was scared to face Ember without the safety net of Danny's ghost powers to fall back on. As she thought of Danny she began to think that breaking up with him was a horrible mistake. She almost wanted to tell him she wanted him back. But now wasn't the time.

_Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep beepbeepbeep_

"Guess we found her." Danny said. Sam got the ecto blaster ready when Danny stopped her. "Wait I hear voices." They creeped behind a tree and listened.

"Listen here dipstick I got the halfa's powers and there's no way I'm giving them up to _you_." They heard Ember spat.

"Oh yes you will, unless you want to be a pelt on my bedside." Skulker yelled. They heard something metal pop out from his wrist.

"Put that thing away." Ember said, not quite as confidently.

"Give me the guitar and I will." Sam nudged Danny. _You're powers are in her guitar._ She mouthed. Danny nodded.

"No, Skulker what are you doing. Stop!" They heard Ember yell. Danny and Sam jumped out from behind the tree just in time to see Ember strike a cord on her guitar. Skulker was frozen solid. "That's what you get baby pop." Ember smiled, clearly pleased with herself. She was going to enjoy Danny's new powers. Sam was about to blast Ember when Danny pulled her back.

"Stay here, and give me that blaster." Danny told her.

"What are you doing? Danny. What-" Danny had already climbed halfway up the tree. Sam rolled her eyes and kept an eye on Ember, who was inspecting her frozen ex boyfriend. Danny crawled out to the edge of a limb and aimed his ecto blaster. Right as he was about to fire he saw Ember spot Sam.

"Well if it isn't the halfa's girlfriend." She smirked. "I've got something cooked up for you." Ember aimed her guitar at Sam. Danny had to make a split second decision. He aimed the ecto blaster at Ember's guitar and fired.

"What the-" Ember yelled before letting go of her guitar. It was malfunctioning like crazy. Cords were spewing out of it randomly as one hit Sam. She received all of Ember's ghost powers.. Danny and Ember got hit with a punch cord. Ember fell to the ground while Danny fell out of the tree. Sam watched fascinated as Ember's flaming blue slowly went out and her skin became darker. She opened her eyes and ice blue eyes shone at Sam.

"You little shit." Ember grabbed her guitar and leaped at Sam. She turned the knob, and struck a cord. But all that came out was music. "What, how-" Sam smirked running over to Danny.

"Danny, can you hear me? Danny!" She yelled. Danny slowly opened his eyes.

"Sam?" He coughed leaning up. Sam smiled as tears ran down her face.

"You idiot I thought you died." Sam shrieked as she stood up. Danny thought he was hallucinating as Sam began to disappear from his vision.

"Sam?" Danny asked moving a hand out in front of him trying to grab hold of the girl. Ember walked over to him.

"Did she just-?" Ember couldn't quite make out a normal sentence.

"I think so." Danny nodded forgetting Ember was his enemy.

"Did I just what?" Sam asked putting her hands on her hips, only to find that they went right through them. She looked at her hands and screamed. She couldn't see them.

"Sam calm down." Danny looked around wildly. Then he grabbed Ember. "What did you do?" He yelled. She pushed him off.

"I didn't do anything dipstick you're the one who blasted my guitar!" She yelled back. Danny huffed and said,

"Sam listen to me. You need to think "human". Think about the one thing that draws you to humanity and focus." Sam evened her breathing and thought of Danny. Nothing happened, so she thought of letting Danny see her and she reappeared, she now had white hair and green eyes. Her jeans were black and her boots were silver. Her hoody had also turned silver, along with her makeup.

"Uh hello? We have situation here." She motioned to herself and Sam. Danny crossed his eyes reaching into his knapsack.

"Yeah the only situation we have is the fact that you're not in the thermos yet." He turned it on and waited for the familiar scream Ember let out while being sucked in. But nothing happened. "What the? Damn thing." Danny hit it, accidentally hitting the release button and all the ghosts he captured went flying out. Ember laughed.

"Nice one dipstick." Danny glared at her.

"Why are you human? And why does Sam have ghost powers?" Danny asked her.

"Why would I help you?" Ember asked. Danny smirked.

"Because if you don't, I'll have Sam unfreeze Skulker." Ember looked from Danny to Sam to Skulker and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but this is not my fault." Ember put her guitar down and leaned against the tree. "When you hit my guitar with your blaster thing the chemicals reacted and made my guitar malfunction. The Transfer button and Mortality button must have went off and somehow combined before hitting us." Ember shrugged.

"So what does that mean?" Sam asked. Ember smirked and stood up, walking towards her.

"It means baby pop, that you're dead, and I'm alive." A cold shudder ran down Danny's spine. Sam dead? That's not something he ever wanted to think about it.

"What about Danny's ghost powers?" Sam asked. Ember picked up her guitar and motioned to it.

"Trapped inside this baby. Sorry dipsticks but the guitar doesn't work anymore without my powers." Sam collapsed on the ground. She was dead? Danny ran at Ember and slammed her against a tree.

"Fix it. NOW." He yelled. She kicked him, hard in the one place no guy wants to be kicked.

"I can't do anything even if I wanted to. She's got my powers and no idea how to use them. And I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Later baby pops." Ember started walking off as Danny was lying in pain on the ground. Sam flew over to him.

"Danny are you okay?" She asked. He nodded leaning up.

"Fine. But we need to get that guitar." Danny stood up and leaned against the tree for support. Something caught Sam's eye. It was a glistening black triangle with a blue flame. Ember's pick. Sam smirked.

"I have an idea."


	2. Roundup

"What the hell are we going to do with a pick Sam?" Danny asked on their way back to Fenton Works.

"We're going to analyze it. Maybe it still has some of her ghost power in it. I bet this is how she powers the guitar anyway. You can't play guitar with out a pick." Sam smiled pleased with herself.

"Uh Sam? Yes you can." She rolled her eyes.

"You couldn't let me have that moment could you." Danny rolled his eyes and they entered Fenton Works. It was near three in the morning at this point. Danny was definitely going to fail his Algebra test. It took a full two hours to analyze the pick. The results were shocking.

"Wait... Ember's powers are the same as yours Danny. The pick is just a filter. It filters her powers into the guitar." Sam was eager.

"Which means if I teach you to use my powers..."

"We can defeat Ember." They said together. Danny's smile fell though.

"What is it?" Sam asked worried.

"We still have to take care of all those ghosts on the loose." Danny slumped into a chair. "I guess I'll deal with it in the morning." Danny yawned.

"I better get home, my parents are probably worried sick about me." Sam went to walk up the stairs. When it hit Danny. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the lab.

"Don't you think it's going to be a little odd for you to go home with silver hair and green eyes and when you wear the same thing everyday?" Sam looked down, then she screamed.

"This is bullshit! I hate ghosts! I hate Ember. She's a punk rocking bitch who meddles in other peoples lives where she shouldn't." Danny put a hand on Sam's shoulder and spun her around.

"Sam it's going to be okay. We'll fix this." She jerked away.

"No it's not Danny. I'm fucking dead. Do you understand that _dead_. Sure we know how Ember's magic works, but how the hell are we going to get that guitar away from her. And it took you years before your ghost powers were second nature to you. I don't have years Danny. I don't want to be seventeen for years." Sam was in hysteria. Danny grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, holding her close. She needed to calm down before she woke up the entire house.

Being a light sleeper Jazz had woken up when the two entered the home. She followed them into the lab and listened on the staircase. She couldn't believe what she had heard, Danny a ghost? Sam a ghost? What was going on? She couldn't take it anymore and walked into the lab. Danny and Sam pulled apart and stared at Jazz, who had her arms crossed.

"Care to tell me what's going on?" Danny rolled his eyes.

"No, we don't. Just go away Jazz." Danny started pushing her out of the lab. She wrenched away from him.

"How long have you been a ghost?" She asked both Danny and Sam. Danny looked down.

"You heard?"

"Oh yeah." Sam groaned and walked upstairs.

"I'll let you two deal with this I'm going to get something to eat." Danny nodded and waited for an interrogation from Jazz.

"How long?" She pressed.

"Three years, but I don't have my powers anymore." Danny told her.

"How?"

"How what? How did I get them or lose them?"

"Both."

"Well when Dad first built the ghost portal... which actually works by the way, I went inside and I think I hit a button or something and got blasted. Earlier I was fighting Ember McLain and she has my powers trapped inside her guitar. To answer your next question, Sam and I went out to get them back. I blasted Ember's guitar with an ecto blaster and it malfunctioned switching Ember's powers into Sam. To sum up, Sam's dead, Ember's alive, and I don't have the slightest idea on how to separate Ember from that guitar." Danny sat down and huffed while Jazz processed the information.

"Wait are you invisobill?" Jazz asked. Danny glared at her.

"It's Danny Phantom... well it was." Jazz sat down next to Danny.

"Look I know I'm always acting like mom and dad should but maybe you need a big sister right now. I'm going to help you and Sam Danny. But can I ask you one thing?" Jazz asked. Danny nodded.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" She asked.

"Because I didn't know how you'd react, and I didn't want to deal with you going all parent on me." Jazz was hurt, but she understood.

"What can I do to help?" She asked.

"Cover for me, Sam and I need to go capture a shit load of ghosts that got away and I need to train her. I also need you to track down Ember tomorrow. Go all girly on her and try to befriend her, we need to get that guitar." Danny said firmly. Jazz nodded and went upstairs. Sam came down shortly after.

"Hey Danny why can't I take off this damn hoody?" Sam asked. Danny chuckled.

"Your clothes are like your second skin. Haven't you noticed ghosts basically wear the same thing all the time." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Joy." Danny chuckled.

"We should start your ghost training."

"Now? It's like three in the morning." Danny shrugged.

"You gotta learn sometime. But first I need to go deal with all those ghosts that got lose. Think you could practice going intangible while I'm dealing with this? I'm going to go get Tuck." Sam nodded and Danny ran out of the lab. He dialed Tuck's cell number.

"Hey man, what's going on?" Tuck answered.

"I need your help. Long story short I have no ghost powers and every ghost we've caught in the past two weeks is on the loose." Danny told Tucker running to the park, he figured some ghosts would have stuck around there.

"Man I told you not to put putting those ghosts back in the ghost zone off." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Just meet me at the park in twenty minutes." Without his ghost powers Danny had to walk and run everywhere.

-Twenty minutes later-

"Duck Tucker!" Tucker turned around to see a ghost cobra lunging at him. He jumped out of the way right as it snapped it's mouth shut.

"That's enough." Tucker aimed his thermos at the snake and sucked it in, right as Danny sucked frozen skulker in.

"How many are left?" Tucker asked out of breath. Teenagers should be sleeping at 4:30 not fighting ghosts.

"Two."

"Any idea where they are?"

"Nope." Tucker slumped against a tree.

"Dude this sucks, how'd you lose you're ghost powers anyway?" Tucker asked.

"Ember took them. They're trapped inside her guitar. Come on let's go to the school it's like a freaking ghost hotspot." Tucker groaned the school was a good half hour from the park.

"So how are you holding up?" Tucker asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Sam." Danny's waited for his heart to drop into his stomach, but it didn't. He just felt numb.

"I'm fine. Oh and speaking of Sam there's something you should know." He explained what had happened between Ember and Sam to Tucker.

"Wow, I wish I could stick around and help." Tucker sighed.

"Don't worry about it, we'll take care of it. All Sam needs to learn is how to use her ghost powers... and play the guitar." Danny sighed, it could be a very long time before things were back to normal. When they reached the school it was 5:00 in the morning, the last two ghosts were fairly easy and they were done by 5:30. Tucker's house was fifteen minutes from the school and Danny's was twenty from Tuckers. They walked to Tucker's house in silence.

"I guess this is it man." Tucker said.

"Guess so, hey it's been fun ya know?" Danny lightly punched Tucker's arm.

"Screw it come here dude." They hugged. Danny smiled at his best friend as he handed him the thermos.

"Good luck with everything, keep me updated. And hey I'm still your research guy." Tuck winked and walked into his house. Danny trudged home. He was utterly exhausted, and sad. When he got home his parents still weren't awake and he figured Jazz went to sleep. Danny went down to the lab to see a sleeping Sam resting her head on the computer keyboard. He touched her shoulder, it was ice cold.

"Sam wake up." She moaned and lifted her head.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"6:15." Danny answered plugging the thermos into the computer and running an extension cord to the ghost portal. He downloaded all the ghosts into them. "How'd the training go?" Sam answered by going intangible. And popping back into view.

"Great job Sam. If you keep learning at that pace you should master your powers in a couple of weeks. Also you need to get guitar lessons, and fast too." Sam shook her head.

"Nah I already know how to play." Danny raised his eyebrows. "After Ember showed up the last time I thought I'd learn and study how she played and what not so that if she ever did show back up again maybe we'd be able to figure out which cords went with which buttons and how we could defend ourselves against them." Sam yawned. Danny nodded, there was no denying how smart Sam was.

"Okay well school starts in two hours and I desperately need sleep, you can crash where ever just pay attention so you can go intangible if my parents see you. Good night Sam."

"Night Danny." Sam went upstairs and curled up on the couch, while Danny went up to his room.


	3. Double Trouble

"Danny! Time to wake up!" Danny heard his mother yelling at him from downstairs. He groaned and looked at his alarm clock 7:30.

"Oh man." Danny groaned getting out of bed. He was going to be late to school. The events of the previous night came flooding back to his mind. Danny facepalmed himself remembering he couldn't fly to school, he was definitely missing first period. _Sam..._ Danny remembered she had crashed here. He went to go look for her when he heard his phone beep. He grabbed it seeing he had a voicemail.

"One new voicemail: Hey Danny it's me, Sam. I'm at school, I mastered flying faster than I thought, call me if you need a lift. I'll see you at school." Danny couldn't help feeling a tad jealous, it took him months to perfect flying, it took Sam two days. He couldn't worry about that at the moment though he needed to get dressed and go to school. He went in his closet and grabbed his white tee shirt and blue jeans, and then he hesitated. He isn't Danny Phantom anymore, and he isn't dating Sam, maybe a new look is what he needs to help him feel somewhat better.

He ransacked through his closest looking for any item of clothing not white. He found a black tee shirt crumpled into a ball in the back of his closest. It was a tee shirt from some goth concert Sam dragged him to. He knew it was probably the only thing in there that didn't closely resemble his usual outfit so he turned the tee shirt inside out hiding the band name and cut the tag off. He spiked his hair up as always and grabbed some black sneakers and ran out the door and off to school.

He did end up missing first period, but Lancer hated him anyway so whatever. As he was running to math he banged into someone.

"Hey watch it!" He heard the spanish voice shriek. He didn't have time for Paulina.

"Sorry." He mumbled before walking away.

"Who was that? He was kinda hot." Star asked. Paulina shook her head.

"You're such an idiot Star, that was Danny." Star's eyes widened. "He was just wearing a different shirt." Paulina scoffed. But even she couldn't help turning around to watch Danny walk [run] away.

Danny slid into his seat in math and took a deep breath grabbing hte bottle of water he managed to take on his way out of the house.

"Whoa Danny you look awful." Sam had on the skinny jeans and short hoody again, with her hair completely down.

"Gee thanks Sam." Danny didn't even bother looking at her.

"Why didn't you call me? I would've given you a lift." She whispered. He looked up at her.

"I wanted to be alone." He was still pretty angry at her for hurting [cheating on] him. "Master any other powers other than flying and tangibility?"

"No. I was hoping you could teach me later?" Sam asked biting her lip. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah sure I'll teach you."

The day passed in a blur. Danny felt so different, no ghost powers, no girlfriend. He felt... depressed. The color black definitely suited his mood. He was glad he wore it. Danny walked to his locker feeling pretty crappy. He had to pass Paulina and Star again.

"Think he's still dating that goth chick?" Star asked. Paulina glared at her.

"You aren't seriously considering going after _that_ are you?" She asked motioning to Danny. Star put her hands on her hips.

"You don't own me Paulina. I can date who I want." And just to prove her point she went up to Danny.

"Hey Danny!" She smiled flipping her hair. Sam heard Star's annoying voice across the hall, and couldn't believe her ears, why would she be saying hi to Danny? Danny looked up surprised.

"Hi Star?" He asked cautiously. Why was she talking to him? He wasn't cool or popular.

"I like your new look." She smiled all cutesy. He looked down at his wrinkled tee shirt.

"Thanks?" She just smiled at him. "Well I've gotta go." Danny said goodbye to Star and walked out of the school. Sam started to go after him only to be stopped by Paulina.

"Look I may still think Danny is a loser but Star likes him for whatever reason, since she is my friend you better back off him Manson." Sam narrowed her eyes.

"I'd tell you to go stick your head in a puddle but any puddle you'd be near would be shallow like you." Sam spat and walked away.

_Great now I have to deal with Paulina and Ember? How much worse could this get?_


End file.
